Protect Yourself before you Wreck Yourself: 4 tips for protecting your vehicles Tech Privacy

Have you ever thought about how much technology is in your car? Well, if you haven’t here’s a news flash…nearly everything in your vehicle is controlled by technology (unless of course your still driving a Flintstone’s era vehicle). If you read last Tuesday’s TechTuesday Post, I touched some on how even your vehicle’s engine is controlled by a computer! (if you didn’t read it shame on you…just kidding, but go read it!) If your like me, in the days of hackers running rampant and impersonators stealing personal information…you have probably at some point thought about protecting your car’s tech privacy from those with malicious intent. OR maybe your thinking…NAH, that can’t happen. If that’s you…your oh so wrong! Either way…keep reading to learn four tips for protecting your car’s Tech Privacy!

Out-Think your GPS: Did you know that someone seeking malicious intent could access your car’s GPS System to figure out where you live? ITS SO EASY! So, instead of saving your HOME address as your actual HOME, set it as a different destination…like a restauraunt or park, and set your actual HOME name as a “code” name (but don’t make it to obvious)

Reset That Garage Door: Selling your car? Don’t forget to reset Your Vehicle’s HomeLink. If your not familiar with HomeLink, it comes with most cars and is a remote that is paired with your garage door openers. Which essentially is a giant key to your house. You wouldn’t give your key’s to a stranger…would you? So, before selling your car…reset those buttons! You should be able to find how to do that in your vehicles handbook. If not, Google does wonders!

STOP OVERSHARING: In the day’s of social media oversharing, doing harm to someone has become so much easier! Think about it…most ALL Social Media services (Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare etc.) have location sharing services. It would be extremely easy for someone to track you down if your an “oversharer”. You can even access apps in some vehicle’s now. Make sure to educate yourself on every social media’s location service platform BEFORE using. And PLEASE…don’t tell the world your exact location or exactly where your going!

Delete your Address book when returning your rental car: Rental Cars rock…they make getting everywhere on vacation SO MUCH EASIER! But, there is something that you must remember to do before returning it. IF you connected your phone to the car’s system, there’s an Excellent chance that you address book is also in the system. Just go to the car’s Bluetooth setup menu and remove your phone from the system. If that doesn’t work…try clearing the private data, OR just reset the entire Bluetooth System. Have Questions or Concerns about your vehicles technology? Chat with One of our Certified Technicians at Woody’s Automotive Group